Device for storing and feeding elongated flexible pipe-cleaning members



July 31, 1951 R. A. PQ EKERT DEVICE FOR STORING AND FEEDING ELONGATED FLEXIBLE PIPE CLEANING MEMBERS 2 sheets-sleet 1 Filed Feb; 7, 1947 IIIII/ July 31, 1951 R. A. I OEKERT 2,562,574

DEVICE FOR STORING ND FEEDING ELONGATED FLEXIBLE PIPE CLEANING MEMBERS Filed Feb. 7, 1947 ZSheets-Sheet. 2

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IN VEN TOR.

Patented July 31, 1951 DEVICE FOR STORING AND FEEDING ELONGATED FLEXIBLE PIPE-CLEANING MEMBERS 7 Richard A. Poekert, Pittsburgh, Pa. t, Application February 7, 1947, Sjerial'No. 727,163

This invention pertains to pipe cleaning machines and particularly to those in which the primemover rotates a flexible, elongated cleaning member or snake which is forced into the pipe to be cleaned.

At present many of such pipe cleaning devices are:known; they all however havethe disadvantage that the cleaningmember is forced into the pipeintermittently and by manual operation, giving the snake an intermittent, irregular for.- Ward motion.

Another disadvantage of the existing devices is that they fail to'give the snake radial support diameters to possess some resistance against collapsing, hence, they. are not suitable to be used on pipe lines or smaller.

My invention eliminatesv these and other disadvantages by providing .a pipe cleaning machine having a .drum for receivingv a suitable length of a flexible cleaning member in the form of a tightly wound helical spring, combined with means for pulling the coiled cleaning member or. snake off the drum and. winding the same on it, respectively, and, with means for giving the cleaning member radial support close to the entrance into the pipe to be cleaned, and for moving the snake positively into and out, of the pipe to be cleaned respectively; all these means being operated by a single prime mover.

Hence, one ofthe objects of myv invention is to provide a pipe cleaning, machine which has a drum for receiving the flexible pipe cleaning member and for arranging it in helical coils thereon, and a prime mover for rotating this for pinching the last turn of theflexible snake 7 Claims. (01. la -104.3)

drum, tightening the coiled flexible snake upon the drum. 7

Still. another object oi'the invention is to pro.- vide a device of the character described inwhich a rotatably mounted but axially stationary member servesas atranslating nut uponthe helically wound flexible .cleaningiflmember and is rotated by a motor simultaneously with the drum upon which the snake is coiled, theangular velocities of the drum andtranslating 'nut being. in, such fixed relationship. thatthe' change in. length of the cleaning member or. snake coiled'on theodrum is substantially the sameasthat of such portion of the. snake that is translatedby the nut during, the same time.

Another objectof the invention-is to create a pipe cleaning machine the cleaning member of which is translated in selectively opposite directions. with substantially selectively variable speed.

Still another object of the invention is to create a device ofthev character described which is pro vided with an adapter for substantially sealed connection with the pipe line to be cleaned, which adapter is equipped with means for flushing'the pipe linev while. it is being cleaned and with means for conducting the flushings away from the cleaning device into a drain or sewer.

These and other objects will be recognized by those versed in, the art by perusing the following description and accompanying drawings, in which: m

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the entire device in accordance with the. invention showing, the conical drum mounted substantially parallel to its base-plate. v

Figure 2 is a side .elevational view of Figure ,1, shown partially inverticalusection. 7 v I Figure, 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on a larger scale taken on line 3--3 in Figure 1. I

Figure 4 is a; diagrammatic'view showing the acting forces in a cross-section of, the cleaning member or snake at the'portion between the drum and stationary guard under the action of the releasable means.

' Figure 5 shows a modified embodiment of the invention in aside 'elevational view, partiallyin vertical section, which embodiment diifersfrom the one shown inFigure- 1 by. using a cylindrical drum including its associate parts at an acute angle to the base, plate'of the device.

Figure 6 is a section on line 6-45 in Figure Identical parts are denoted by identical numerals in the several views of the drawings.

Referring, more particularly to the drawings and especially to Figures 1 to 4, the numeral l designates the frame in general, comprising a horizontal base mounted on casters |2 or otherwise, and vertical uprights I3, I 4 and I5 secured by bolts Hi to the base ll. Uprights l3 and I4 accommodate suitable bearings l1 and I8 to support rotatably and slidably the shaft H! to which the drum 20 is rigidly fixed by suitable means, for instance, such as a tapered pin 2|.

Bearing I8 is long enough to have a suitable recess to accommodate a coil spring 22, held compressibly between the shaft l9 and the seat 23 of the cap 24 which is rotatably mounted therein. This cap 24 is screwed on the suitably threaded shank 25 of upright 3. A lever 26 slidably mounted in a hole 21 in cap 24 serves to manually turn the cap 24 on or off the threaded shank 25.

Between the bearings l1 and I8, the shaft l9 carries a conically surfaced friction wheel 28 which has a hub 29 fixed rigidly to the shaft l9 by means such as a tapered pin 30. Wheel 28 is preferably sheathed on its peripheral surface with a rough material 3| having a high frictional coefficient.

A stationary guide 32 is fixed to the base II and has a central opening and a suitable bowllike configuration to serve as a stop against which the compressed spring 22 urges the drum 20, pinching the lower part of the coil of the flexible member or snake 33 between the drum 20 and the guide 32. Drum 20 is shaped as a conical frustum with a small apex cone angle converglar bearing surface 31 in cover 38 mounted on.

lugs 39 integral with, or rigidly fixed to, upright 5. The mounting of the rotatable member 35 is substantially coaxial with that of the drum 20. The rotatable member is threaded axially with a predetermined pitch and is rotated at a predetermined velocity, the determination of which is more fully described hereafter. Upright l5 and the cover 38 have substantially coaxial openings 40 and 4|, respectively, of ample crosssectional areas to admit the snake 33 with a desirable clearance to prevent friction.

To guide 32 is fixed a stationary conical guide 42 encircling the drum 20 and the thereon wound snake 33 with the necessary clearance to prevent injury to the workman or damage to the machinery in'case the snake would break accidentally during the operation.

To guide 32 is also fixed a bracket 43 to which is rigidly mounted an electric motor 44, preferably of the variable speed type, carrying in a well known manner a switch board 45 equipped with the necessary instruments for the safe and convenient operation of the device. If desired, any of a number of well known means (such as limit switches) might be employed to disconnect the motorafter the drum 20 makes the required number of revolutions to wind on or off the flexible snake .33.

Motor has shaft extensions on both ends; the left end shaft extension 41 is connected to a speed reducer 46 and is supported rotatably in a suitable bearing 48 in upright 4 while the right end shaft extension 49 is preferably direct coupled to motor 44 and is supported rotatably in bearing 50 in upright IS.

The friction drive wheel 5| having preferably a rounded peripheral surface is slidably but nonrotatably mounted on shaft extension 41 by means of a feather key 52. A helical spring 53 located between bearing 48 and friction drive wheel 5|, urges the latter outwardly toward a pin 54 which it never reaches (the pin serving only for assembling purposes) as the friction wheel 5| is stopped from reaching pin 54 by contact with the conical peripheral band 3| of friction driven wheel 28.

The right hand shaft extension 49 carries a suitable driving member such as a, V-grooved pulley 56 which is fixed on shaft extension 49 by means of a tapered key 5'l, as shown. The pulley 56 registers with the pulley 35 which it drives by suitable means such as a V-shaped belt 58.

The cover 38 has a central threaded opening into which nipple 59 is screwed carrying at its outer end a half union 60 for the connection to an adapter generally denoted by 6|.

The adapter 6| comprises pipe nipples and pipe fittings with suitable connecting members, such as half unions 62 and 63 at its ends. Between these half unions there is a centrally located T fitting 64 and two conventional valves 65 and 66 which, when opened permit the passage of the snake 33 without interference. The side opening of the T 64 attaches to a nipple 61 and angle valve 68 to which a hose 69 is attached. Half union 62 is connected to half union 60 on nipple 59, and half union 63 is screwed on half union in at the end of pipe 1 The device operates as follows:

Opening pipe H and screwing half union 10 on its end (in case there would be no union at that point) adapter 6| is attached, with all valves closed, by half union 63. Subsequently the cleaning machine is brought into a position in which half union 60 and nipple 58 are coaxial with pipe H and adapter 6| which is then attached to half union 60 to nipple 59, by screwin half union 60 together with half union 62. Cleaning member or snake 33, in starting position, is coiled on drum 20 and its free end is threaded through the rotatable member 35 the working end of the cleaning member 33 reaching into adapter 6| up to the closed valve 65. The valves 65 and 66 are now opened to freely admit the snake 33.

Cap 24 is now screwed away from shaft l9 thereby releasing spring 22 from all compression after which motor 44 is started which rotates through speed reducer 46 the shaft extension 41, friction drive wheel 5|, friction driven wheel 28 and drum 20 at a predetermined speed s in such direction that it unwinds the snake 33 from the drum at the speed that suits the cleaning operation.

Assuming that the snake 33 is helix wound at right hand and that it is coiled in a right hand helix on the drum 20 (as shown in Figures 2 and 3) then with each counter clockwise revolution of drum 20 (in the direction of the arrows) snake 33 will unwind by one coil from drum 20 and will also turn clockwise about its longitudinal axis by 360 degrees, which means axial advancement of the cleaning member or snake 33 by the pitch or lead of the thread or turns in member 35. In order to give to the snake 33 a translating motion at a speed substanascaw r' tially' equal to that with which. the snake 3.3v un winds from drum 20 .it is necessary to rotate member 35 with a predetermined velocity which can be determined mathematically as follows:

'- 'Let us designate by D the mean diameter of the coil formedby the flexible member 33 ondrum 20"; N the R. P. M. of the drum,.windin'g or unwinding; n the R. P; M. of member: 35' at. which the decoiling speed equals the translating speed of member 33; pthepitch or lead of the helical turns of snake 33'; U the unwinding speed; then Inch: per. second: 60 60 +p from. which 3.14ND60p P Asia numerical example, if D=6 inches, N-= R..P. p=% then the. rotary speed of member 35' necessary to make the decoiling. speed equal. to the translating speed of the member 33,

, Vs /8 If. the winding of the snake would be left hand instead of right hand as before, the general forthe speed of the snake 33 withwhich it unwinds from drum 23 will be equal to its translating speed through member 35.

Possible inaccuracies will be equalized partially by the slipping of the friction drives and the increase or decrease of the loop 72 formed by snake 33, for which loop ample space is provided in the machine.

.While the cleaning member or snake 33 is progressing intopipe 7! angle valve 68 maybe opened and. the loosened deposits, scale etc. flushed out of the pipe H through hose 33 into convenient receptacles, sewers etc., or the cleaning member 33 may be withdrawn from the adapter, valve 55 closed and then the flushing operation effected.

For'withdrawing snake 33 spring 22 is compressed by cap 24, and motor 44 is rotated in the opposite direction than before whereby also the rotation of member 35 is reversed and the withdrawing of member 33 and coiling up on drum 2!! is efiected. 1

Figure 4 is the diagram of the forces acting upon drum 20, guide 32 and snake 33 in a crosssection in which the pinching effect is created.

" The spring force :Sdue to spring 22 urges drum 23 toward guide 32 pinching snake 33 between the drum and the guide, at points denoted byA and B. Spring force S creates the compressive forces P andQ which are actinginpoints'Aand B-respectively, perpendicular to the pinchingsurfaces and radially upon snake 33. Transposing these forces in their line of action to thecenter of the cross-section of snake33 and. adding them geometrically, the resultant will be a force R which points toward the drive side. of the drum 2.0". The resultant R will tend to move the last coil and with it the previous coils upon the drum provided this'forceris; greater than the I effect .of the friction between the: coil andthe pinching surfaces. I

It. can be? shown by trigonometry that R will overcome the effect of friction when angle (a -b) is. greater than. av predetermined: acute angle depending on the materials used for the drum. 23, guide 32 and snake 33 and onthe smoothness of. their surfaces. Hence, by selecting' the suitable conicity for drum 20' (angle b) and a suitable shape for the guide 32, the tangent to which, at the contact point B, determines angle a, the resultant R will. overcome the effect of the friction and the snake33formed on drum 2 3 will have an orderly formation. on the drum.

The magnitude of R is a function of angles a and b' formed by'the tangent of the compressive surfaces with the horizontal, so that by employ ing means for varying one or both of angles, the tightness of the formation of the coil on drum 2-!) can be controlled.

For cleaning or unwinding, spring 22 is released by unscrewingcap 23 when spring:53 will push friction drive wheels 5| and 28 and with them shaft [9 and drum 2!! toward the left until thehub 29 on wheel 28 isstopped by upright l3, in which position a suitable clearance is'produced between drum 20 and guide 32 to permit the snake 33 to slip off drum 20' coil by coil, and be translated by rotating member 35 toward pipe 1|.

Figure 5 is an elevational view of a modified form of my invention. It differs from the first embodiment in that'drum 73 isnot conical like drum .23 of the first embodiment but it is cylindri'cal and is mounted at an acute angle b to the horizontal. The motor 43 and shaft extension 48 and 43 are parallel to shaft 19 of drum 13', hence are mounted atthe same angle to the horizontal, while. the central planes of friction wheels 5| and 23 and rotary member'35 form the same angle b with the vertical. Nipple '74 is curved to lead the snake 33 horizontally into adapter 5].

The purpose of the cylindrical drum and its angular mounting is to produce the angle b. on the drum surface and the pinching effectbetween the drum 13, cleaning member or snake 33. and guide 32. Furthermore it is to facilitate. the winding up of. the snake 33 on the drum 13, which being cylindrical all .coils. will have the same diameter andwill slide more readily thereon than in .case of a. conical drumwith increasing diameter. Hence this embodiment is especially suitablefor extremely long snakes as a large number of. turns of coils can be placed on a cylindrical drumi-n an orderly fashion- A stationary guide 15 has its lower. portion TB'hinged at T! in-order to be adjustable. relative to drum 13. Tangent T at the contact point with flexiblesnake 33 forms angle a with. the horizontal and by pivoting the lower guide portion-1B around pin 11- the angle a is variedand with. it angle a-b upon which the magnitude of resultant force R depends. For adjusting the power guide portion 16 a turnbuckle 18 is provided pivoting at pin 13 mounted on the frame and also at pin 8| mounted on lower guide portion 16; Turnbuckle i8-is provided with a nut .82-and a locknut 83 for adjusting its length and looking it, respectively.

From the foregoing description taken in con:- nection with the accompanying drawings; the

construction ofth'e. device and the method-of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while describing the principle of operation of the invention together with the two preferred embodiments which are now considered to be the best embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a pipe cleaning machine comprising a frame, a drum rotatably and slidably mounted therein, a cleaning member employing a tightly wound helical spring of considerable length, means for releasably attaching one end of said cleaning member to one end of said drum whereby the rotation of said drum will change the length of the coiled portion of said cleaning member on said drum, means for rotating said drum for selectively coiling thereon and uncoiling therefrom said cleaning member, a stationary bowl-shaped guide attached to said frame and fitting around the other end of said drum, resilient means having a manual adjustment for regulating the pressure exerted 'by the resilient means, means for forcing said drum axially toward said guide to engage said cleaning member therebetween, means to translate said cleaning member at a velocity that substantially equals that of said coiling, and means for introducing said cleaning member into the pipeline to be cleaned.

2. In a pipe cleaning machine comprising a frame, a rotating drum axially slidingly mounted therein, a cleaning member employing a tightly wound helical spring of considerable length, means to attach one end of said cleaning member to one end of said drum whereby the rotating of said drum will cause a change in length of the coiled portion of said cleaning member on said drum, a stationary bowl-shaped guide attached to said frame and fitting around the other end of said drum, resilient means having a manual adjustment for regulating the pressure exerted by the resilient means, means for forcing said drum axially toward said guide to engage said cleaning member therebetween, resilient means for urging said drum axially toward said guide, a rotatable member mounted on said frame, said member having a central threaded hole snugly engaging the turns of said cleaning member for positive translation thereof, a prime mover secured to said frame, drive means operatively connecting said prime mover to said drum and to said rotatable member for effecting their rotation in selectively opposite directions and at different speeds of such predetermined relationship that the change in the length of the cleaning member coiled on said drum is substantially the same as the length of the cleaning member translated through the threaded hole of said rotatable member during the same period of time, an adapter for connecting sealingly the threaded central hole of said rotatable member with the pipeline to be cleaned.

3. In a pipe cleaning machine comprising a frame, a rotatable conical frustum shaped drum axially slidingly mounted therein with one end unobstructed, a cleanin member employing a tightly wound helical spring of considerable length, means to releasably attach one end of said cleaning member to said drum whereby the rotating of said drum will cause a change in length of the coiled portion of said cleaning member, a

stationary bowl-shaped guide attached to said frame and fitting over the unobstructed end of said drum, releasable means for forcing said drum axially toward said guide to engage said cleaning member therebetween, a rotatable member mounted on said frame, said member having a central threaded hole snugly fitting the turns of said cleaning member for positive translation thereof, a prime mover fastened to said frame, and drive means including a speed reducer and a friction drive operatively connecting said prime mover to said rotatable member for effecting their rotation at selectively opposite direction at different speeds of such predetermined relationship that the change in the length of the cleaning member, coiled on said drum, is substantially the same as the length of the cleaning member translated through the threaded hole of said rotatable member during the same period of time.

4. In a pipe cleaning machine comprising a frame, a rotatable, conical frustum shaped drum axially slidingly mounted on a shaft overhanging the latter with one end unobstructed, a cleaning member'jemploying a tightly wound helical spring of considerable length, means to attach one end of said cleaning member to said drum whereby the rotating of said drum will cause a change in the length of the coiled portion of said cleaning member on said drum, a bowl-shaped stationary guide fitting around the unobstructed end of the drum, a cap threaded on said frame, a spring interposed between said cap and said shaft to vary the compression force upon said spring from zero to a predetermined maximum of force for urging said drum axially toward said guide to engage said cleaning member therebetween, a rotatable member mounted on said frame, said member having a central threaded hole snugly fitting said cleaning member for positive translation thereof, a motor fastened to said frame, and drive means, including a speed reducer and a friction drive operatively connecting said motor to said drum and frictional means operatively connecting said motor to said rotatable member, for effecting their rotation in selectively opposite directions at different speeds of such predetermined relationship that the change in length of the cleaning member coiled on said drum is substantially the same as the length of the cleaning member translated through the threaded hole of said rotatable member during the same period of time.

5. In a pipe cleaning device comprising a frame, a cylindrical drum rotatably and axially slidingly mounted on a shaft with one end unobstructed, a cleaning member employing a tightly wound helical spring of considerable length, means to releasably attach one end of said cleaning member to said drum whereby the rotating of said drum will cause a change in the length of the coiled portion of said cleaning member on said drum, a bowl-shaped guide fitting around the unobstructed end of said drum, the axis of said bowl-shaped guide being at an acute angle to the axis of said drum, a cap threaded on said frame, a spring interposed between said cap and said shaft to vary the compression forces upon said spring from zero to a predetermined maximum for forcing said drum axially toward said guide to engage said cleaning member therebetween, a rotatable member mounted on said frame, said member having a central threaded hole snugly fitting said cleaning member for positive translation thereof, a motor fastened to said frame, and drive means, including a speed reducer and a friction drive operatively connecting said motor to said drum and frictional means operatively connecting said motor to said rotatable member for effecting their rotation in selectively opposite directions at different speeds at such predetermined relationship that the change in the length of the cleaning member coiled on said drum is substantially the same as the length of the cleaning member translated through the threaded hole of said rotatable member during the same period of time.

6. Apparatus for manipulating a pipe cleaning snake in the form of an elongated helical spring, said apparatus comprising a drum, means supporting the drum from one end only for rotation about its axis, the other end being free to permit Wraps of the snake to be put on or removed from the drum, a bowl shaped guide having a central opening through which the snake extends, the adjacent surfaces of the drum and guide diverging towards the end of the roll remote from the opening, mean for thrusting said snake into the pipe to be cleared and common means for driving said drum and said thrusting means, said drum being movable axially in said supporting means toward and from said guide to a point spaced from said guide substantially the diameter of said snake whereby the drum and guide may engage the snake to urge it towards said drum during rewinding.

10 7. Apparatus as defined by claim 6 characterized by manually adjustable means for yieldingly urging said drum toward said guide.

RICHARD A. POEKERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 937,551 Remmen Oct. 19, 1909 1,118,270 Dahl Nov. 24, 1914 1,250,195 Linthicum Dec. 18, 1917 1,648,048 Hochtritt Nov. 8, 1927 2,037,103 Yohn Apr. 14, 1936 2,183,618 Magruder Dec. 19, 1939 2,247,004 Sullivan June 24, 1941 2,259,899 Long Oct. 21, 1941 2,272,387 Therrien Feb. 10, 1942 2,282,600 Blane May 12, 1942 2,299,785 Barrett Oct. 27, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date Germany Sept. 14, 1910 

